Charpentier: So far, so good

FOXBORO - Even a win can be lost in the shadow of Tom Brady and the historic 2007 season.

Russ Charpentier

FOXBORO - Even a win can be lost in the shadow of Tom Brady and the historic 2007 season.

Maybe it's time to forget about that for awhile, and focus on what can be accomplished in 2008.

There is growing evidence, especially in a season where there doesn't appear to be a dominant team, that any burial of the Patriots as playoff contenders was very premature.

This morning, New England is tied for the lead in the AFC East after winning their fifth game in seven starts. The Patriots are even with Buffalo after battling and beating resurgent St. Louis yesterday, 23-16. They did it without three top running backs, a battered secondary, and of course, their MVP quarterback.

So don't try to bring up that Brady injury in the locker room now. In effect, without its leader, this has become a new team "There's not a lot that can be said about that situation that happened a while back," said tackle and captain Matt Light. "We've all moved on."

Harsh? Maybe in the real world. But this is the NFL, and it's apparent the Patriots are indeed distancing themselves from the memory of their injured star.

Matt Cassel is the quarterback, and because he's trying to replace a living legend, he will always be in the spotlight. So shine it on him.

For Cassel to lead the Pats to 10 points in the final quarter, after falling behind 16-13, and to float a winning 15-yard TD pass to Kevin Faulk, means a lot for this team. It was the kind of come-from-behind win ol' what's his name became famous for.

"I think Matt realizes what we're all about and realizes what his responsibilities are," said Light. "There's no better way to see it all unfold in front of you than to have a guy like (Brady) show you how to do it. He's done a good job."

Cassel completed 21-of-33 passes yesterday for a career-high 267 yards and the winning touchdown. Yes, he was sacked three more times and picked off twice in the third quarter. One of those passes went in and out of the hands of Randy Moss, and on the other Wes Welker fell down.

All of which allows you to debate how far that kind of play will take this team.

What you can't debate is the 5-2 record. Or the kinds of players — like Faulk (13 carries, 60 yards; 4 receptions, 47 yards) — who have helped make this franchise what it has been since 2001.

"Nothing Kevin does surprises me," said fullback Heath Evans of Faulk. "He amazes me at times. He is capable of so much. You see him make catches and pick up linebackers that outweigh him by 50 pounds. There are just so many aspects of his game. He is probably one of the best."

For his part, Faulk's approach is always the same.

"You don't have a lot of opportunities sometimes," he said, "but you always have to be ready because you don't know when the situation is going to come up. The situation came up today where we were down to three running backs and we had to carry the load."

It's a message repeated over and over in Foxboro. Look at the secondary by the fourth quarter. Mike Richardson, signed off the practice squad last week, was at a corner until he got hurt. So was Terrence Wheatley. Ellis Hobbs was hurt. Deltha O'Neal was injured, but came back to make an interception that effectively ended the game. Brandon Meriwether moved from safety to corner. Antwain Spann was playing safety.

Who's on first?

No wonder safety James Sanders said coach Bill Belichick is the king of moving people around and putting them in a position to make plays.

Like Cassel.

"He played really well," Wes Welker said of his quarterback. "He made all the right reads and was seeing the defense really well."

Cassel's inexperience shows. It's the way of the modern NFL that he and the Pats could go into Indianapolis next Sunday night and get destroyed. But what's important is the continued improvement. We're starting to see what Belichick saw when he stuck with his quarterback.

"I think for any quarterback, if you play with confidence you play well because you're confident in what you're doing, you're confident in where you're going with the ball," Cassel said. "It's a big part of my game. I felt good about the game plan and it showed out there."

Felt good enough to be 5-2, with nine games still to come before the playoffs.

"It was a big win, but the focus is always winning down the stretch and trying to get better," said Evans. "Let November and December speak for themselves because 5-2 is a great spot to be in, especially this year when there's a lot of teams that are up and down."

Seven weeks ago, few would dare have dreamed such a thought.

Staff writer Russ Charpentier can be reached at 508-862-1263 or rcharpentier@capecodonline.com.

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